Lighting devices, such as overhead lighting fixtures and lamps are known in the art. These traditional types of lighting devices often use filament-type light bulbs as their illumination source, which are known to have numerous disadvantages. For example, filament-type light bulbs emit heat, have a relatively short life span, and are energy inefficient in comparison to alternative lighting sources that have become available over recent years. For example, illumination sources such as halogen lights, neon lights, fluorescent lights and light emitting diodes (LEDs) have increased in popularity as illumination sources over recent years, and are known to be more energy efficient and have longer life spans than filament light bulbs.
With all the advantages associated with these alternative illumination sources, the lighting industry has begun to use them for various applications. For example, LEDs are commonly used for automotive indicator lights, street lights, etc. . . . In addition to these uses, there is a recent movement towards using LED lights in order to retro-fit existing types of lighting devices, such as overhead lighting fixtures and existing types of lamps. Although retrofitting existing lighting fixtures with LEDs creates more energy efficient lighting devices, they create the overall same lighting effect as existing lighting devices. As such, it does not appear that the lighting industry is moving towards using LEDs to create new types of lighting devices that have characteristics that differ from existing lighting devices.
As such, there is a need in the industry for non-traditional lighting devices that use LEDs in order to create more versatile lighting devices that display characteristics such as flexibility and softness that are lacking in the art.